Jj is for Jottings 88.  Hearing Loss Effects on Speech, Language and Literacy.

 

Moving on from discussing fluctuating hearing loss in the previous article, we now turn our attention to the effects of hearing loss on speech, language and literacy.

HEARING LOSS EFFECTS IN SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN.

Multiple ear infections, which often lead to middle ear fluid, can impact hearing for months. Sounds are muffled and children will have to strain to hear the softer level speech. They may even give up  trying to listen – and who could blame them?   Of course, this will put learning of all kinds further behind – not just language and literacy.  If there is background noise, such as in a classroom, hearing becomes even more difficult. Significant portions of group or class discussions may be inaudible.  The ongoing struggle to hear is exhausting for the child, and this can impact on behaviour.  This is most likely to happen once the child reaches the security of home, where he can drop his guard.  ‘Tired’ and ‘grumpy’ often crop up here.  To find out more on the importance of listening (and you can’t listen if you can’t hear) see here and here.

 

HEARING LOSS EFFECTS IN YOUNGER CHILDREN.

For a younger child who is still learning speech and language, there may be a noticeable delay in the acquisition of speech sounds.  Or there may be errors in speech production because they are unable to hear the correct pronunciation of words.  And not being able to clearly sort out speech sounds will lead to difficulty in learning sound-letter links.  As far as language is concerned, the child may miss hearing grammatical markers such as ‘s’ and ‘ed’, particularly on the ends of words. He is also far less likely to pick up vocabulary and language concepts because the overall struggle places such a load on the child’s brain.  Where there are any concerns about speech or language, the child should be referred to a speech pathologist.  For more information on how speech and language problems can affect literacy development, see here.

I have often noted that, when a child misses out on learning the rules of grammar at the “right” developmental time, it is much more difficult for them to learn them later on when the window has closed.  What should be, in normal developmental terms, soaking up the rules effortlessly like a sponge, becomes a conscious effort.  It is just the same as the ease with which a young child picks up a second language when it is spoken around him on a daily basis compared with an adult learning the same second language.  The adult must learn everything consciously and make an effort to commit the grammar and vocabulary to memory.

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL EFFECTS OF HEARING LOSS.

On the social-emotional front, children with hearing loss may become socially isolated.  A lack of response to peers due to not hearing may be mistaken by peers for rejection, which can lead to reduced attempts at interaction.  However, this is avoidable if the school handles the issue with common sense.  The hearing loss can be explained to all children so that they are aware that they are not just being ignored, and the child with the hearing loss taught to say that he didn’t hear.  This is easily addressed in the presence of an ongoing hearing loss, but a fluctuating hearing loss can be different.  If it has not been detected, the child’s behaviours may be mistaken for:

• Attention problems
• Insecurity
• Distractibility
• Social immaturity
• Non-participation
• Lack of self-esteem.

We can but hope that a child with fluctuating hearing loss has parents who are vigilant enough to detect the problem sooner rather than later.

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